eating and losing weight

first off, congrats to my older sister (and author of this blog) on becoming a mother last week! her twins, sydney and ethan, came 8 weeks early, but are healthy and progressing well. so i will be taking over the blog for a bit i'm assuming since she's going to be ultra busy with two preemies in the NICU.

i've had a few people asking me for some recipe ideas and eating/nutrition tips for weight loss or just maintaining your weight. here are a few of my own and some i've adopted for other people, like lindsay brin. i have found them to be very helpful in my weight loss journey. these are ideas people. i'm not saying you have to do every single one of these things and to the extent that i do (like cutting out treats and sodas). i'm just making suggestions as to some things you can do to make your weight loss more efficient. even though some of you may not want to hear some of these things, i know they help with losing weight or maintaining weight.

*switch to whole wheat- if you haven't already, make the switch. why? first off, white bread (or other forms of white carbs) have zero nutrition pretty much. you won't fill up on them. i could probably eat an entire loaf of white bread and still not be full (sick, but not full). you'll have to eat more of the white stuff to fill up. don't jusk look for wheat or multri-grain. you want 100% whole wheat. food companies are very tricky and can get away with A LOT of dishonesty on food labels.

*speaking of labels, READ THEM! labels are one of the most important things to me. personally, i'm really aware of what KINDS of food i put in my body. not just calorie content (although that does help with weight loss). i'm all about going as natural as possible. general rule of thumb, the less ingredients, the better. i used to get bread in arizona and utah that had like 4 or 5 ingredients in it. very wholesome and pure. i try my best here in washington, but there isn't a brand i've fallen in love with yet. they all have too many ingredients, preservatives, and other crap i can't pronounce. that's a bad sign! do the best you can. but try to find something without high fructose corn syrup, without too much sugar (look for something sweetened with honey instead), etc. and ps. getting something that says, "no sugar," usually means they have replaced the sugar with artificial sweetener. aspartame, nutri-sweet, splenda, etc. not good for you. look for things that say, "no sugar added." this usually means it really doesn't have a form of sugar in it. to be sure, always check your labels.

*eat until you are satisfied. personally am the type of person that eats often, but in small amounts. i try to eat until i'm satisfied, and not "full" or even "over satisfied." this was a HUGE milestone for me. (note: i still struggle with this and have to work EVERY DAY to eat what my body needs and NOT MORE!). you really have to pay close attention... your body actually sends a signal when it's "about done." sometimes i listen. sometimes i don't. but i try to most of the time! :) so not only do i recommend eating small amounts, every 2-4 hours during the day, but i also recommend only eating until you are satisfied. do NOT eat until you are full. and EAT when you are hungry. just not too much.

*no BLT's. BITES, LICKS, OR TASTES. i learned this from lindsay and found that it rang SO TRUE for me! when i do this, i either, don't lose weight or gain weight, depending on how many days i do this, in a row. :) so stop eating your kids leftover peanut butter sandwiches (don't even have a taste of it), quit eating the last of the fruit from the dinner table that no one ate (unless you truly are hungry still... and by hungry, i mean physically hungry. not mentally or emotionally). no more grabbing a handful of cereal on the way out the door. don't eat unless it's "time" to eat and you are hungry. something to help with this is to only eat while you are sitting down. something else i found... don't eat while you are making dinner! i catch myself having BLT's of what i'm making for dinner all the time! if you're trying to lose weight, NOT doing this is a great way to cut out calories. they add up quickly! a good way to avoid having BLT's, is to eat before your kids do. if i'm making my kids lunch and i'm hungry, watch out! i end up eating half of their lunch. and then i'll sit down and have my entire lunch too! feed yourself before you prepare their lunch, so you aren't tempted to eat BLT's off of their plate. and if they have leftovers, save them or just throw them out. don't eat them. i promise, these calories add up and they add up fast!

*try not to eat a lot late at night. we all tend to eat a lot at night. and most of the time, we aren't even hungry. we're just eating, to eat. if you are hungry, have a piece of fruit. an apple or pear goes a long way, especially as a late night snack! but really, try to ask yourself, "am i really hungry? physically hungry? or do i just emotionally want this food?" if the answer is "no. you aren't hungry," have a glass of water or a small piece of fruit instead of a meal, chocolate bar, or piece of cake.

*give yourself limits- don't give into every single craving. you can't lose weight if you are going to have a piece of chocolate every time you want one. personally, i could not find a healthy balance. i tried all the time. i tried "on holidays only." i tried, "once per week." didn't work for me. i still have treats, they just aren't most people's version of a "real treat." but believe me, i love rice dream ice cream, or homemade mango sorbet made with agave nectar, or a clif bar, or a lara bar, or whatever it may be. but i don't have them every day. just because my treats are a little healthier, doesn't mean i can eat them at all times. i'm not saying you have to cut out refined sugars and normal treats. but give yourself a limit. i would say once a week is a good goal. and when you do get that once a week treat, don't eat 10 chocolate bars. have one. even though you are allowing yourself a bowl of ice cream, have two scoops. not four or five. set limitations for yourself so you aren't eating these extra calories every day.

*eat a good breakfast- i'm not saying have a huge breakfast by any means. if you skip breakfast, or don't eat too much during the morning and early afternoon, by evening time, you'll be starving and consume tons of calories and then end up not being able to burn those calories off as well. eat breakfast.

*cut down on the sodas and other drinks besides water- this is one of those things that i cut out completely. i really don't drink anything except water. if you do, a great way to cut calories is to cut down how many calories you are consuming in liquids. sodas have tons of sugar in them and tons of calories that won't fill you up whatsoever. i do not recommend diet sodas. to me, they are worse for you. to me, anything artificially made by man is worse than something somewhat natural. diet sodas have artificial sweetener in them which is worse than sugar itself. argue if you want, but you can't change my mind. juice is also one of those things that's super high in calories (even if it's 100% juice) and won't fill you up. eat the apple rather than drink the apple juice. way more filling for less calories.

*drink water- you've heard this one over and over again. but it really does help. fill up a large glass of water and keep it next to your sink. bring a water bottle with you on errands. when you feel hungry, have a few swallows of water first. or an entire glass. much of the time, we think we are hungry, when in fact, we are thirsty. so drink people. water that is! and i don't want to hear "water doesn't quench my thirst." that's the biggest load of crap i've ever heard. :)

*eat wholesome foods- nutrient dense foods. eat foods like fruits, veggies, whole wheat carbs (no, carbs are NOT bad for you. just empty ones are). be careful on things like crackers, chips, dips, spreads, dressings, butter (these calories add up quickly), CHEESE (did you know 1 c. of cheese has anywhere between 400-500 calories in it?????? HELLO PEOPLE! what an easy way to cut out calories.. either don't use it at all or use a TINY BIT. 1/4 c has about 100 calories in it. ridiculous and that stuff doesn't fill you up whatsoever), and again, sweets. and remember, just because it's "healthy or healthier" doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want to. i love hummus... but i can't go eating 1 c. of hummus. it still has calories. snacky foods are usually extra calories.

*watch your portions- just live i've mentioned, watch how much you are eating. have a little bit of whatever you are eating, whether it be healthy or not. everything has calories (unless you are into the "no calorie this or that thing," which i am not. if it doesn't contain calories, it's not food to me. it's manmade and it's crap. don't take offense, that's just how i roll and my opinion. so be careful of your portions and how much of each thing you are consuming.

and just fyi: i get a lot of crap from people because i don't eat "treats." so i'll say this: one of the main reasons i cut out treats was because i hated that they ruled my world. i could not say no. that bugged me. that something as stupid as a piece of cake controlled me. and then i would turn around and be mad at myself for eating it because i was trying to lose weight. so i cut it out. and i felt so empowered that i was in control of my body. my body no longer controlled me. i didn't have to listen to it's temptations... i could decide for myself that "no. i wasn't going to eat that cookie." it was quite an amazing experience. and the main reason i have stuck with it is because i feel 100 times better without that stuff in my body. i wasn't planning to cut it out for longer than it took me to lose my baby weight after isaac. but i love feeling in control of my food, and that it doesn't control me. so just a side note of why i'm "not balanced," as some people claim.

k that's all i can think of for right now. i'll post some recipes soon. promise. and if you have questions about any of this, leave a comment and let me know!